Aquamarine
by MTRose
Summary: Aquamarine: a light blue gemstone, that is calming, soothing, and cleansing, and inspires truth, trust and letting go. A person comes into the lives of Sans and Papyrus. They did not expect, nor want what came, but in the end, they were better for it. They discovered an Aquamarine. [Sans/OC] DarkFic Slowburn (M Rating for dark content, and possible adult themes later)
1. Wind chimes

Heya, man it has been a bit since I have written anything. I am a little rusty, so bare with me!

That being said, I will warn you all, my updating will be inconsistent, as i work 50+ hours a week, and my creativity comes in spurts. Also, another warning, this fic will take the cartoonish, wild characters, and take a more realistic turn. There maybe some "OOC"-ness, because Sans will be suffering from mental illness, and Papyrus will not be the innocent little snowflake most people picture him as. They will still retain their main characteristics, like Sans' contrite, surfacey, silly humor, and Papyrus will struggle with trying to be the "hope and positivity" for monsters. The main character is an OC, and its character will develop as the story progresses. **This will be a darkfic.** It will include identity crisis, loss of loved ones, betrayal, slight noncon elements, just to name a few. I am struggling to make these characters more real life, and realistic, then the silly, lighthearted way they are portrayed in the game, so please be gentle. That being said: enjoy! 3

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It was a cold late autumn evening. It hadn't started to snow yet, but the weather was cold enough. The first snow should be happening soon. Sans walked down the street, sneakers damp from puddles. He had his gloved hands stuffed in his jacket pocket, and his hood pulled up. It made little sense to humans, but skeletons breathed too, so his walking form was trailed by his breath fogging in the crisp evening air. This was Sans' favorite time of the day. Sure, he was surrounded by too much noise and too much movement, but looking up, he saw into the infinite stars. His charts underground never scoped the true spans of the night sky. It was breath taking to Sans. It never failed to make his day, and its stresses, feel insignificant.

It had been almost 10 years since the Ascension. Monsters and humans, for the most part, have made peace with each other. There were so many humans, and so little monsters when they arrived, that the integration was easy. Human children were taught about monsters, about their basic types, about souls, and about their magic. Humans seemed to be less afraid when they weren't so ignorant. At first, there was segregation, due to massive cultural, and biological differences. But the more the humans learned, the more they seemed at ease. The government was afraid of a massive influx of disease from the monsters, and same the other way. That their immunities, like with past cultures, would decimate them. But as more culture was shared, humans came to realize, that monsters weren't biological, therefore, they could not catch diseases. Humans were terrified, fascinated, and in awe of monsters. The more humanoid monsters were brought forward, and interviewed. The news had aired their talks, and even a few channels were set up to provide information of these new creatures.

About 6 years after they arrived, the monsters had began to spread away from the mountain, and their population started to thrive. They had hope again. They weren't afraid of their children suffering in a prison like them, and having limited resources like them. And through this boom of population, they still were only .5% in comparison to the humans. By law standards, monsters had equal rights, but that didn't mean times weren't tough. Sans and Papyrus, and other types, mostly those that resembled the humans the closest, were usually under the most scrutiny.

Papyrus did many interviews in those beginning years. Sans had had a hard time watching his brother field some of those rather tough and awkward questions. Humans were sometimes a bit too curious. But Papyrus had persevered, and muscled through awkward and ignorant questions. Sans was never more proud of his brother.

Sans snapped out of his reverie, and tore his eyes from the stars, to continue walking down the road. Pap and Sans lived in a small city. There was way more people then he was used to. This was no Snowdin, but the evenings were the best. Just enough humans to remind him he was free, but not enough to make him panicky. He never did well in crowds, and there were so many humans. Sans smiled at a passing woman and child. The woman smiled and the kid waved back, and Sans heard the kid start to ramble away at the mother about what he had learned in school about the monsters as Sans passed. He chuckled to himself; if Pap was here, he would have probably started to join the child in their enthusiastic conversation. Always the willing Monster Mascot.

Sans helped the local police force. It was the perfect job for him, surprisingly. He was always on payroll there, but didn't always have to work. His skills at reading the intentions of others was quite the handy tool for them. Not everyone knew he what he could do, and not every monster could do it, but it certainly helped him. A few times a week, the local sheriff would call him in, Sans would stand behind a one way mirror, and watch the perps be interviewed. He let the officers know if they were guilty or not.  
It couldn't be taken to court, but they at least knew whether or not they should waste their time investigating those people, or if they should redirect their limited resources towards other suspects. Sans got to keep his anonymity, for the most part, and he got a pretty penny for his efforts too.

Sans yawned loudly, turning down the street were him and Papyrus lived. They had a smaller apartment, in a large complex, but it was enough for 2 skeletal men. His home was still about 6 blocks down, so he still had time to enjoy his leisurely evening stroll. Paps was out of town still for another few days, so he wasn't particularly looking forward to a dark, quiet apartment. Maybe he should eat out again tonight?

As he ran through his options in his head as he watched the sky, a sound caught his ear, metaphorically speaking. He paused his steps, looking down an alley, between a laundromat with a balding man sitting waiting for his clothes, and a cafe whose interior was dark. The sound was like a wooden wind chime knocking around in the wind. A few of his neighbors had some, wind was still a pretty strange concept to him. This sound was different, and scraped at the corners of his memory. After a while of listening, he realized it was probably nothing, shrugged it off, and continued on his way.

He walked into a diner the next block over. It wasn't Grillby's, but they had amazing hamburgers, and the owner was this surly old man who had the driest humor Sans had ever experienced, and it never failed to make him laugh. As he walked in, he took a booth, sliding down in the seat, taking off his gloves, and pulling down his hood. People always stared at him. It used to piss him off, but he can't lie, he use to stare at humans too. Monsters all looked different, but they never claimed to be the same species as each other. The humans, who were all the same species, came in all different kinds of colors, shapes, sizes, and styles. It was fascinating. Sans use to take pictures of particularly weird, or cool, looking humans. Sometimes he looked through them, laughing at the pictures, and himself, for how naive he use to be about humans.  
A woman, with pale skin, blonde curly, poofy hair, and uncovered arms with tattoos (another thing that use to fascinate Sans), came up to his booth. She had a quirky smile, and a mouth full of white teeth, that still sometimes freaked Sans out: humans were fleshy skeletons.

"Well, welcome back! I see your brother is still out of town," she ribbed lightly in a very light southern drawl. Sans smiled cheekily back at her.

"What, can't a guy come see his favorite human, and maybe have a greasy hamburger?" Sans gave his best shit-eating grin. The waitress cocked her hip and pulled out her note book.

"Don't get cheeky with me. We both know you're kissing my butt, 'cause you know if I breathed a word of your diet this last week to your brother, you'll be eating the lawn clippings for the next 3 weeks," she shot back, writing down his order, with a teasing look on her face ( human faces were so expressive.) Sans cringed; Paps may not feed him lawn clippings, but he'd definitely add more green to his plate then Sans particularly wanted.

"Come on Diane, you wouldn't do that to me, right? After all, I always _fry_ to be the best _crustomer_ for you." He chuckled, propping his face on his hand. Diane had been setting his table, and spit out air, and looked at him half exacerbated, and half amused. She then turned on her heel to give his order to the kitchen, walking away, shaking her head.

Sans just chuckled to himself, tapping his ivory bones on the table. It was still weird to him, how much things had settled down, and how content he was with his current life. Sure, he'd have liked to have the other monsters around still, and sure, he'd like to have a house like he use to, but all in all, he couldn't complain. It got a little _bonely_ sometimes when his brother was gone, but he had made a few human pals, so things weren't too bad. Diane, was just one of a few, although he never hung out with her outside her job.

Age was a thing that Sans still struggled with. Birthdays, into adulthood, never were really kept track of for monsters. Sans wasn't sure how old he was, but he knew he was older then any human. Even Pap, who was much younger then him, was older then any human. But, he was a young monster, and so he felt like he wasn't sure who to talk with, human wise. He still had an immaturity of youthfulness, but life experiences, which amounted to several human lifetimes, made him feel like any human he hung out with was a child.

Point being, Diane was an... older human, and saw him as a child. Not someone she'd spend time with. But younger humans, were a bit... cringey to spend time with sometimes. Bars were an interesting experience: he'd get the most insanely awkward questions from drunk humans, and would see them do the weirdest shit. Sans found it hilarious. But he found common interests with some humans, and that was enough for him.

After a few minutes, Diane came back over, sliding a cherry coke, 2 bottles of ketchup, and a plate with a burger and fries in front of him. He could almost feel his energy being restored staring at his greasy banquet. He turned to Diane, who had an amused, but sincere smile on her face.

"Still think you have no taste buds," referring to the ketchup," but don't let the cook know I said that." She ended in a friendly, conspiring whisper. She stood at her full height, brandishing a straw and some napkins for Sans. "Anything else for you, Hun?" Sans shook his head lightly, sitting up in his seat.

"Thanks Diane." She nodded, smiling, and went to another occupied booth to check on them. Sans ate his meal in relative silence, soft diner music, and murmurs from the other customers filling the atmosphere. After he finished eating, and paying, he was back on his way home. Shuffling up the stairs to the third story of the complex, Sans pulled the keys out of his pocket, into his blacked out home. Flicking on the lights, he was greeted with silence. The front room had a couch by the window, and the TV on the opposite wall. There was a small kitchen, and dining table, which felt empty to Sans at the moment.

He shuffled down the short hall towards 3 doors, one lead to the bathroom (Sans still flushed things down the toilet chuckling once in a while). The other 2 doors were to his bedroom, and Paps bedroom. He went into Papyrus' room, and fed his 2 gold fish, then went to his room, flopping onto his bed. He pulled out his phone, unlocked it and stared at the screen. Paps usually called around this time, but Sans was debating calling him. The house felt particularly lonely at the moment. Then he huffed, and put his phone away.

Papyrus was busy, he would call when he wasn't, and Sans would let his brother alone, and not bring him down with his restlessness and melancholy. Flipping over, he grabbed a book off his bedside table, flipped it open, and got lost in its text. Night was always hard for him. He didn't have relentless nightmares anymore, but once in a while, he still had them, so there was always a pocket of dread pulling at his sternum this late at night. Reading helped distract him. There hadn't been many human books underground. The river had usually turned them to mush, or a wrinkled, unreadable mess. So Sans had a guilty pleasure in human books. They wrote so much, and it helps Sans understand the people he would have to live with for years and years to come.

Sans passed out a few hours later, with no call from Paps, his book on his chest. He dreamed of men on the sea, storms, ship battles, lost treasure, and surly women. Sometimes the figures were human, and some were monster. At one point, his dreams faded. He was woken by the loud, sharp rattling of hollow wood. The sound made him wake up gasping, panic crawling up the inside of his vertebrae. A shudder ran through him, as he rubbed his face, then looked outside. It was still early, probably just past dawn, but the panic woke him with an adrenaline rush, and now he wouldn't get back to sleep. He looked at his phone. Paps had text him, just a few messages, apologizing for not calling, that it had been a late night, and to call him when Sans woke up.

He swung his legs out of bed, and walked to the kitchen, scratching under his shirt on his ribs, yawning loudly. He made himself some coffee and toast, and sat at the table, waking up. He pulled out his phone again, and dialed Papyrus.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus' cheerful voice made Sans smirk, and relax tension he didn't realize he had been carrying. "I SEE YOU RECEIVED MY MESSAGES. HOW WAS YOUR DAY YESTERDAY?" Sans chuckled, and switched the phones from one side of his head to another.

"It was good Pap. Went to the Station for most of the day, and slept." Sans could hear Papyrus huff, exacerbated.

"I REALLY WISH YOU WOULDN'T SLEEP ALL DAY, ALTHOUGH I AM GLAD YOU AT LEAST WORKED! STILL, I DO MISS YOU. I KNOW THE AMOUNT OF HUMANS BUGS YOU, BUT MAYBE NEXT TIME YOU CAN COME WITH ME?" Sans face drooped a little; Papyrus never pushed, but he always brought it up. Sans felt guilt at that thought. Paps just missed him, and worried about them being so far apart.

"I'll think about it bro. Maybe this next time you go, if it isn't too long."

"THAT SOUNDS WONDERFUL! I'll KEEP YOU TO THAT!" Sans could practically see his brother wiggling in his chair from his excitement, making him smile affectionately. "BUT, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW, TODAY IS MY LAST DAY. I'LL BE HEADING HOME TOMORROW!"

"Ah, that's great Paps, your fish miss you," 'and so do I' Sans guiltily added on in his head. He couldn't begrudge his brother's independence. Him and his brother were just 2 different people. "I'll make sure the how isn't too messy for when you get home." Sans hardly spent time out of his room when Pap wasn't there, but he always liked teasing him. Sure enough, Sans heard his brother's annoyed groaning on the other side of the phone, followed with a huff.

"YES, PLEASE DO THAT! THAT WAY, WE CAN SPEND MORE TIME HANGING OUT, AND LESS TIME CLEANING." Sans chuckled. "ALRIGHT BRO, I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY! TEXT ME LATER?"

"A'course, Paps. Have a good one." With that, the line went dead. Sighing, Sans knew his days only activity was over. Grumbling to himself, he put his dishes in the sink, then stared at the piles of dishes. Sighing, he directed his magic to rinse the dishes, load them in the dishwasher, and turn it on. Papyrus hated when he didn't just do them by hand, claiming Sans was being lazy. But Sans really hated the way the dirty dishes made his bones smell afterwards. Besides, Papyrus wouldn't be the wiser. By the time he finished, showered, and changed it was mid morning. Listless, he tilted back and forth on his feet, thinking about what to do.

He used to have a lab, but no house, no lab. There was just enough space in there house for them, so tinkering was out of the question. Sighing again, he at least decided the house was no good. Grabbing his jacket and keys, he headed out the door. The town was big enough, where everybody didn't know each other (which still threw Sans through a loop). but the town was also small enough where there wasn't a ton of things to do. and humans weren't as... liberal with what weird things they did in public. Sans use to love watching the residents of Snowdin, doing all of the weird things they did. In comparison, humans were so mild. No one walking their little brothers on leashes, or making puzzles in the streets, or talking rocks. Then again, monsters had to make do with what limited things they could do, and made fun things for themselves.

Sans went to the park. there were always people watching to be had there. plus, in the midday sun, he could get his bones nice and warm. there was something so pleasantly lazy about soaking up sun. He grabbed a hot dog from a vendor, and sat on a bench. There were mini humans playing at a play structure, and joggers (Sans laughed to himself watching a woman run by wearing neon). A young woman painting (the look on her face kept changing in weird ways) and some older men playing checkers. Sans finished off his hot dog, and lazily watched people. Sans noticed, and sighed to himself almost rolling his eyes, that the artist kept staring at him. He hoped he wasn't getting painted, it feels a bit invasive. Like when humans use to take photos of him and Paps without asking. It never bothered his brother, who instead struck a pose, but it made Sans feel like an exhibit. Oh, the artist stood up. Okaaaaaay, not painting. She probably gonna come ov... Yep, she's walking over. Sans mourned his lazy sunbathing, but sat up straighter on the bench. Sans wasn't good at the whole 'human age' thing, but if he was to guess, she was not a child, but not middle years. Okay, he prepared himself for brutal bluntness, and odd questions. She had nice brown hair though. Looked like chocolate. She stopped in front of Sans, and he smirked up at her, waiting. She shuffled her feet around, wringing her hands together. Sans recognized the anxiety, so he reached out a hand.

"Heya, I'm Sans." The girl seemed startled, but reached out her hand. "Hi Sans, I'm Rose." She laughed out nervously, but had a large wobbly smile. "Sorry, for uh... staring earlier. It was probably a little rude." Sans smiled indulgently.

"No worries, I'm use to it by now. People stare at me sometimes, like they see a ghost or something. But, I'm just a skeleton." Rose laughed out loud, a bright smile. Then covered her mouth, looking upset.

"Oh gosh, I uhhh... I thought that was a joke! But you look like a skeleton. Oh geez, did that sound racist?! And... I mean, obviously, you aren't a ghost..." she spat all of that out rather quickly, and Sans threw his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Whoa, kid. Calm down, heh! It was a joke, don't sweat it. I don't just look like a skeleton, I am one, so no worries!" He gestured for her to take a seat. She sat down with a sigh, laughing to herself, then she looked up and stared at him. Not just stared: studied. He self consciously wiped at his mouth, did he have ketchup on it from the 'dog still? She seemed to snap out of her thoughts.

"Ah sorry for staring again hehe. It's just that I'm looking at the differences between you and an actual skeleton." Sans gave a look. She threw up her hands defensively. "I mean a human skeleton! Sorry, of course you are one, but I mean, I'm sure you've had people say you look like that before, but I was just thinking how you didn't look like one. A human skeleton that is." Sans seemed to study her now a bit, his head cocked to one side.

"I mean, yeah, most humans say I look like a human skeleton. Why do you say i don't?" Sans had to admit, this wasn't what he was expecting when she had approached.  
"Well, I'm not sure you saw, but I was painting. I studied art! And we had to learn how to draw all kinds of things, including the human skeletal structure! And although you look very similar, there are just... differences." Sans had to admit, he was lost. He never thought to look into what a human skeleton looked like. Felt weird, plus made him feel like a pervert thinking about looking up pictures of naked skeletons. He laughed to himself.

"Never really studied the human skeleton. I'd think it maybe like looking up naked pictures for someone like me." He laughed at her stricken expression.

"Oh gosh, I didn't think of that! But I mean, if you did look it up, it'd most likely just be scientific models. And humans look at scientific drawings of naked humans if we take biology and stuff. Heck! I spent almost a year of art school drawing real life naked people!" Sans felt his cheeks burn a blue. Rose stared at the color on his face, then seemed to have recognized his discomfort. "Oh gosh, sorry. WOW, this convo just got weird with a perfect stranger..."

"You don't say?" Sans laughed out loud. Rose chuckled a little too.

"Anyways, my whole point was just, for studying it, you look very different. Just, your hands, and your face don't seems to have different bones. I enjoyed observing the differences. It's kinda what artists do. Make observations, and really awkward conversation." She laughed out loud, and Sans chuckled a bit. "Oh! I've seen another skeleton before! There's one that's on the news sometimes, has a font name... mmmm I can't remember right now. But do you know him too?!" Suddenly she gasped. "Oh wait, shit, I'm sorry! I feel like that was kinda insensitive. Of course you don't know every skeleton!" She hid her blushed face in her hands and slapped her own face a few times. Sans laughed hard, catching her off guard.

"I mean, maybe you always shouldn't jump to that conclusion, but yeah actually. Skeleton monsters are pretty rare. Papyrus is my brother. There aren't any other skeleton monsters."

Rose seemed to be surprised, and relieved at hearing this.

"Ah I see! They are rare huh? I suppose that's true. I do watch as much as I can about monsters, since you guys are our new family here on Earth now! But I had only ever seen Papyrus, so I was surprised to see another one." She sighed happily, lost in thought a bit. She looked at Sans again, smiling big. "You must be so proud! Your brother has done a lot in helping us understand all of you better." Sans smiled at her, then looked out back over the park.

"Yeah, my bro is amazing." Rose seemed just as happy to enjoy the park, and the companionable silence. Sans and her made idle chatter for a while afterwards. Rose was so awkward, Sans felt bad for thinking how much fun it would be to tease her relentlessly. After a while, Rose seemed to have regained herself, remembering she abandoned art supplies. She bid him farewell, rushed to her things, packed up, and with a final wave at him, left the park. Well, a good amount of time had passed, he could probably head to the diner for an early dinner. He walked slowly over there, pulling his jacket snugger. It may actually storm tonight, the wind was chilly, and clouds were coming in. The cafe by the laundromat was just closing, and the workers inside were stacking chairs. The distant sound of wooden wind chimes rattled in his head as he passed the alley way, and the laundromat.

He still couldn't place why that sound was so nostalgic. It was kinda bugging him. It was like it was just at the edge of recognition. Ugh, knowing him, he'll remember it in the middle of the night in a few days, when it didn't matter anymore. Sans shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Dinner was uneventful. Diane was off that day it seemed, and the new waitress was so frazzled, he didn't bother bugging her too much. She seemed thrown off enough by his ketchup request. He shuffled home quickly, seems a storm was really on its way. He paused outside, seeing the light on, and grinned widely. Papyrus was home. He knocked on the door after replacing his keys in his pocket. Papyrus launched the door open, and wrapped Sans in a crushing hug.

"HELLO SANS! WELCOME HOME!" Sans could see tears in Papyrus' eyes, and hugged his brother back. He had missed him too.

"Heya Paps, how's my favorite bro?" Papyrus sat him down, realizing how the weather was, and shut the door.

"I AM QUITE WELL! AS SHOULD BE EXPECTED! THE MEETINGS ALL WENT WELL, AND THE CHARITY EVENT WAS VERY LIVELY! I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY HUMANS ALL FANCIED UP LIKE THAT! IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING!" Papyrus had started making himself busy in the kitchen. It seems that he had gone grocery shopping before getting back. Sans made himself some coffee then sat down at the table to hang out with Papyrus. "How are the others doing? Did you get to see them much?" Papyrus stopped packing and grinned at Sans, before turning back.

"YES! ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T GET TOO MUCH TIME TOGETHER, I DID GET TO PLAY WITH FRISK SOME MORE! SHE HAS GOTTEN SO BIG! IT'S ALWAYS SCARY REMEMBERING HOW FAST HUMANS AGE! SHE'S PROBABLY TALLER THEN YOU KNOW! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus teased Sans, and Sans pouted playfully back. Truth be told, if Frisk was taller then him, then she's very tall for a human girl. Sans knows he's short, but monsters were all very tall. Sans, by human standards was average height. Papyrus gasped at a memory, doing a little jig he was hopping from one foot to another too fast.

"What is it? Better spit it out before you explode Paps."

"UNDYNE WAS TELLING ME, THAT HER AND ALPHYS ARE THINKING OF SOUL BONDING!" Sans was taken aback. Whoa. He never pegged Undyne as the type to Bond, but good for them. It irked Sans, since she was much younger then him, but how could he not be happy for 2 of his closest friends. "IF THINGS GO THAT WAY, THEY WANT TO HAVE A PARTY TO CELEBRATE. YOU'LL COME, IF THAT HAPPENS, RIGHT?" Sans smirked. He maybe anti-social, and a little bit of a head case still, but he wouldn't miss this for the world.

"Of course Paps, I'll be your plus one." Sans chuckled at Papyrus' disgusted face.

"IF I HAD A PLUS ONE, IT WOULDN'T BE MY BROTHER! I'M NOT A BABYBONES SANS!" Papyrus huffed and shoved things into the cabinet a little roughly. Sans chuckled again; his brother was too easy sometimes. Outside, the storm had really started to pick up, now that the sun was set. As weird as it sounded, him and papyrus loved the sound of the storms. The wind, and the rain, and thunder and lightning. It was like the world was shouting they were free. He cracked a window by the table open, and Papyrus and him listened to the storm, just enjoying the calm. Sans leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Everything was perfect, and Sans slipped into a dozed state, in between sleep and wakefulness. The trees were going mad with the wind, and the downstairs neighbors wind chimes were dancing like crazy. And in that peaceful state, he remembered why that one sound in the alley was so familiar. He sat up so fast, Papyrus was startled.

"SANS, ARE YOU OKAY?" Sans barely registered what his brother had said. It wasn't the sound of wood rattling. He barely remembered, but he remembered waking to that sound when he was younger. Papyrus made those sounds. When monsters are young, they run more off instinct, then intelligent thought. And when young skeletons got scared or hurt...

"...they rattle."

"WHAT RATTLES SANS?" Sans looked at Papyrus, then shook his head. No, that can't be right. Plus it was a long time ago, he could be mistaking the sounds. "SANS?"

"Pap, you remember how to rattle?" Sans looked at Papyrus, who stared at Sans like he smelt weird.

"YES... BUT WHY? THAT IS AN ODD QUESTION." Sans debated whether or not he should even follow this road of thought. After all, it was just a stupid thought. There was no way there was a skeleton in that alleyway. It was just him and Pap... but what if.

"Pap, I had a thought, and it's stupid, but it'll bug me. I can't remember how, could you? Rattle I mean? I'll explain, I promise." Papyrus stared at Sans, then shrugged. Pap was always up for a challenge. Sans watched as he closed his eyes, tilted his head and tucked his arms. At first, no sound rose over the noise from outside. Then, it picked up in volume. Sans' stomach clenched. It did sound like wood chimes, but there was a clacking density that couldn't be mimicked by wood. Papyrus had stopped, and was looking at Sans as he paled, eyes wide, his head shaking.

"SANS? WHAT IS IT? WHAT'S WRONG?" Sans looked at Papyrus, then stood up suddenly.

"I know it sounds strange Paps, and it maybe just stupid, and we could laugh about this tomorrow..." He rubbed his head, this couldn't be real. He had to be going crazy. Wouldn't be the first time he'd of thought that. He looked up into Papyrus' eyes. "Paps, last few days, in the exact same spot, I heard rattling." Papyrus sat back, looking a little like he'd been struck.

"SANS.. THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE. UNLESS YOU... MATED... BECAUSE I HAVEN'T..." Sans looked taken aback.

"No. Paps, no.." He rubbed his face. "Jeez Paps. No, I know it couldn't have come from either one of us..." He looked at Papyrus. "I know what I heard. Neither of us knows how Dad came into being, Asgore never knew another skeleton besides us three, but our kind came from somewhere." Sans grabbed his jacket and a flashlight, looking back at Papyrus. "What if Paps." Papyrus gripped his hands into fists and stood, nodding at Sans.

They peeled there way out the door. Sans was in a slight manic state. He had been doing so much better the last few years. He hoped he wasn't going off the deep end again. He shook his head. If he wasn't going crazy, there was another out there, and he can't afford to be self flagellating right now. He turned, seeing Papyrus hot on his heels, and ran as fast as he had in years. he saw the dull lights of the laundromat, and came to a halt outside the alley. The storm was still going, and he couldn't hear rattling. Maybe he imagined... No. Sans shook his head. He knew what he had heard. He clicked on the flashlight, stepping over heeps of garbage bags. he crawled over crates, and Papyrus started searching too. The wind was whipping down the alley. He couldn't hear anything. They searched for 15 minutes, before Sans stopped, shaking his head, clicking the light off. He cupped his face and slid to the ground.

He had been getting better. Sans was so frustrated. He felt a little hopeless, and lost. he looked up, and Papyrus was looking him over with worry. He sighed, and Papyrus sat down next to him. "IT'S OKAY SANS. IT MIGHT OF BEEN SOME OF THIS JUNK IN THE ALLEYWAY CLANGING TOGETHER. SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE CLEANED THIS TRASH UP, IT'S FILTHY!" Sans chuckled, slowly hitting the butt of the light against his forehead. The wind started to die down a bit. Seems the storm had started to pass. The alleyway got quieter, and just echoed to Sans his insanity. Papyrus stood up and held out his hand, helping Sans up too.

"Com'mon Paps, lets go home and get dry." He led the way out, Papyrus slowly picking his way threw the trash a bit behind him. Sans got out, and turned to look at Pap, but he wasn't there. Clicking on the light, he flashed it down the alley. Paps had stopped, staring down into a large heap. He looked up at the light, then back down.

"SANS..." His voice held enough trepidation that Sans threw himself back into the alley quickly. When he got to Papyrus, he heard it. It was quiet, but he heard it. He looked at Pap, then suddenly they were both moving fast. Bags of trash flung out of the way, the rattling getting louder and louder. They finally uncovered a burlap sack, it was the size of a wide duffel bag, tied up tight with a metal clasp crimping the opening closed.

"Papyrus, help me with this." Sans knew he couldn't carry it on his own. Papyrus picked it up, and they walked out of the alley. Papyrus looked shaken.

"SANS, IT'S SHAKING SO HARD." Sans saw him cradling it with care. He turned and saw people staring at him and his brother through the window of the laundromat, then grabbed Papyrus' sleeve, and his attention.

"Not here. Whatever it is, we can deal with it at the house. Com'mon." They jogged back to the house, adrenaline pumping. They made it upstairs, and into the kitchen, where the shaking, quietly rattling bag was placed on the floor. Sans went and grabbed the scissors from a drawer and came back. "Prop it up Paps." When Papyrus held it up, Sans, with shaking hands, slowly cut through the thick burlap at the top. Papyrus watched over his shoulder, quiet and cold. Finally, Sans cut the last of it off, and tossed the cinched part and the scissors to the ground. He slowly spread the top wide open, and Papyrus gasped as Sans sucked in a breath. They both saw the top of a skull. Just as the thought of them finding a dead human started to cross his mind, Sans saw the head move. It tilted backwards, back and back and back, until his eyes met a set of eyes staring back, glowing a light blue.

"Oh... **fuck**..."

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Please R&R 3


	2. Fragile

You felt cold.

You don't remember anything before that. Why was it so cold? You couldn't call out, your mouth was covered. You shook hard; your body hurt so much.

Why was there so much pain?

You passed in and out of consciousness, and you didn't know how much time had passed. You could hear sounds, and voices, and things passing by. You shook harder, making the only noise you could, but no one came. Steps would stop, and pause, but eventually kept going. It was so dark, you were so tightly wrapped, you could hardly move. The restraints dug in, and the pain got worse, so you tried to stay still, except to shake for help.

But no one came. Sometimes, you felt things press into you, but no one helped. Was this normal? Did you always need to be like this? But you didn't want to, you wanted the pain to stop. You knew this wasn't it. You just knew it. You would wait.

You lost consciousness.

You were so cold, your energy was so low. You just wanted someone to help. You could barely stay awake, and it got so cold... You struggled to stay awake, and as a long time passed, things got quieter and quieter.

In and out of pained consciousness.

You were startled awake. Something was moving around outside your cocoon of darkness. A heat source, you could feel it radiating. Help? HELP! You were weak, and tired, and you hurt so much... but you shook. It was too quiet. Just a little louder. Your chest ached in the strain. The heat source stopped by you. You darted your eyes in the vague direction that it was coming from. Shake harder!

And then movement. The pressure around you gave way, and sounds became clearer and louder. Shake louder! The movement stopped. Sounds, a loud sound, and a deep sound. The loud sound came close, the deep sound hummed out, and suddenly, movements. You were bouncing a little. Harder pressure around you. The pain, the sounds were pressing on you, and it hurt!

The loud sound was so close, and so warm. You didn't shake so hard, it was warm. Loud sound, and deep sound, humming around you.

Then movement.

It hurt, it hurt, IT HURT! Then movements stopped, and the warmth went away. No... You were hurt, but come back... Shaking was so hard, you tried, but you were loosing consciousness again. Sudden movement, and warmth again, then scraping. That sound, it was in your darkness! It was so close. You were scared. You would stop, no more noise, please, you didn't want more pain. Eyes clasped closed. But the movement stopped, and no pain came. Eyes open. Light. Looking around, more light up. You took in the first things you see. Bones, yes, that was you. You could see your hurt now. Rough darkness was now not so dark. Looking up, and you saw light. Loud sound, and deep sound. They were there. They looked at you, and you looked at them. They were beautiful.

* * *

Sans was in shock. He didn't know how long he stared at you for, but nothing moved. This skeleton stared up at him. Its eyes drooped in tired pain, but they held such expressive awe. He watched as those eyes moved all over his face, and Papyrus' face. Sans took in what his brain still registered as impossible. It had a round face, sort of like his, but a little thinner. Small cracks littered its skull; it had had a very hard life. Half of its face was obscured by a dirty, bloody rag. Sans reached in, to take the rag away from its face, and it flinched, eyes slamming closed. Sans looked up at his brother. Pap had always been the gentler of them. Papyrus nodded, and reached a hand in, letting his damp, soft glove caress the top of the skull gently. Soft, gentle movements made its flinching stop, and it opened its eyes again.

"See now? We ain't gonna hurt yeah little guy. We are gonna help ya. Lemme just get this thing off." Sans reached behind its head, and after some struggle, was able to untie the knot. The rag peeled off, in a painful looking way, that made Sans wince. Its mouth was wide, its cheeks deep, dark and hallow, but thinner bones came down over its teeth, giving a very hard looking mouth. It flexed its mouth, working its jaw experimentally. A light greenish-blue tongue snaked a little from between its teeth, running along its lips. "There, see? We just want to help. You gotta name buddy?" Sans made eyes contact with it again, but it said nothing. 'Was his voice broke?' "A name? Like mine, I'm Sans, and that's my brother Papyrus." Sans gestured towards Papyrus, and its eyes followed Sans movement, and it looked at Pap.

"HELLO THERE NEW FRIEND!" Paps whipped out his biggest disarming grin. It stared at Pap, then its mouth went wide. It had seemed to Sans that it was trying to smile too, but it fell short, looking a little weird. Sans and Pap shared a quizzical look. Sans snapped out of it. This skeleton was still in that dirty sack.

"Com'mon paps, let's help him outta there." Sans stood up, and gestured for its hand. It stared at his hand, looking it over like it had his face, then its gazed slowly traced up his wrist and forearm, all the way up to Sans' face, but didn't move to take his hand. Sans rolled his eyes a little. Seemed it was a little spacey. He reached in for its hand, and on finding it, pulled up lightly. A high pitched, soft keening warbled from its mouth, and its face twisted in pain, light blue tears gathering in its eyes.

"SANS! STOP!" Sans let go and jumped back like he'd been burned. Its unnatural chirping had stopped, but it had buried its head down again, as it rattled lightly. Papyrus stroked its head and down the back of its neck a little. "IT'S OK, IT'S OK. IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. WE ARE SORRY. YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY HURT, WE WILL BE MORE GENTLE." Papyrus tried to make his voice low and gentle, and it seemed to work. The rattling had stopped, and it blinked back up at Sans and Papyrus.

"Hey, sorry pal. I didn't realize you were hurt. Lemme see what's wrong. Don't worry I wont pull again." Sans pat its head a little then reached down past its head. He felt around a little blindly. Hand, wrist... something on the wrist. Tenderly fingering the obtrusion, he follow the rough texture, where it connected to its shoulder. "What in the hell...?" Sans looked at Pap, who stared back, and Sans sightlessly felt around some more. 'What is that?' Then, he realized what it was, and he felt tears spring up, looking back down at this tiny skeleton, who looked up at him with pained awe.

"WHAT'S WRONG SANS?" Sans looked at Papyrus. He imagined himself like this, imagined Paps like this... A wave of rage over took him, and he felt his smile widen in anger. Papyrus flinched at the look.

"He's tied up in there. There's fucking ROPES binding him together." Papyrus looked horrified. They worked quickly, saying no more. Slowly peeling the sack down around bruised bone, and a naked, bruised, beaten and bound skeletal frame. The sack was discarded, and Sans paused to take in this sickening sight. Ropes binding wrists and ankles, to each other, around legs, and shoulders. Folded like an accordion, shoved in a sack, gagged and left for dead. Nausea rushed through him like a wave. He reached for the scissors and started to make short work of the ropes. Slowly, the tension in the body released, and it was unfolding. Papyrus, crying, slowly unwound the ropes from extremely tender bones. The poor thing was crying again, rattling. It made that keen, warbling sound, that plucked at Sans' need to protect.

The poor fucking sod.

It was a slow process, but it was finally over. Sans had been watching Papyrus' slow, tender work. A pit of dread sat in his stomach. Looking of the naked form, he realized... this was an adult. 'How long had he been like this? In that alley? So FUCKING CLOSE to us? What kind of life did he have before he was so cruelly left in that sack to rot?'

"SANS, HE NEEDS HELP. HE'S WEAK, AND HE'S SO... HURT." Papyrus was looking at Sans. He was sad, but he could also see dignified rage too, behind his tears. Sans nodded.

"Yeah, get him a blanket, I'll fetch Alphys." One last look at this tiny creature, who looked up at him, and he left the kitchen, pulling out his phone. It was late now, and Alphys may be in bed, but he rarely called. Hopefully, she would get the picture it was urgent. The tone dialed, and then he heard it clicked.

"*Yawn* S-sans? It's wuh-one in the morning. Is something wrong?" Sans felt guilt, but then stepped on it firmly.

"Yeah, sorry Alph. You know I don't do this. But we have a... situation over here." He ran a hand don't his face, the stress was getting to him. "We need some medical help. Can I come get you?" He heard cloth rustling, and a murmur in the background.

"-Yeah, it's Sans. Sounds like he's going to need my help.- Alright S-sans, come to the front room, I-I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Thanks Alph. I'll be there in a few." He hung up, and turned around. Paps had it wrapped in a huge blanket, and cradled to his chest. Sans walked over. Its eyes were closed, but as he rested a hand on its head, its blue eyes peeked open tiredly again, looking at Sans. "Hey there little guy. It's gonna be OK. Paps will take good care of you, and we will get someone to help with..." Sans swallowed around a lump in his throat. "Well imma go get help." Sans looked at Pap.

"Keep him safe, and lay him in my bed. I can just sleep on the couch. I bet he's pretty tired." They both looked down, and sure enough, its eyes were closed. Papyrus sighed.

"WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON SANS? WHERE DID HE COME FROM?"

"Iunno bro, but we will find out. Right now, I'm more worried about him making it through the night." Papyrus winced at that, but nodded.

"RIGHT, WELL GO GET ALPHYS, THEN WE CAN WORRY ABOUT THE OTHER THINGS LATER." With that, Papyrus turned on his heel, and went for Sans' room, and Sans pulled his magic, his left eye burning, and ripped a walkway to Alphys and Undyne's front room.

He just stood and stared at the wall. He felt his head buzzing, but he also felt numb. The thumping of stairs shook him from his reverie. Alphys came down the stairs, followed by Undyne. Sans gave them both a tired smile. Alphys seemed perplexed, and worried, but Undyne just looked annoyed.

"I know this doesn't have anything to do with Pap, otherwise you'd be having a hissy fit, so what's this all about. You know, some of us have work in the morning," Undyne looked agitated, cocking a hip and crossing her arms. Alphys saw a scowl pass over Sans' face, then he sighed, collapsing in a chair behind him. He cupped his hands and rubbed his face. Alphys came forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"W-w-what is the matter Sans?" Sans looked up, and now Undyne looked worried too. Sans realized he never looked this out of sorts if front of others.

"We uh.. shit... we found a skeleton." Alphys seemed to startle, gasping.

"Whu-whu-whu-WHAT?! L-l-l-like a dead human?! Why didn't you call those guys you w-w-work for?" Alphys seemed panicked, and Undyne seemed shocked. Sans sighed.

"No... not a human. A monster." Undyne snorted in laughter, then stared in Sans' tired eyes, and gulped.

"You're joking, right? That's impossible. I mean, unless you got, uh, busy lately." Alphys blushed.

"No Undyne, jeez... Not like I'm some lady killer. Fuck. Plus, he's an adult. Like, probably around Paps' age, maybe mine. Iunno. He hasn't said shit. He's... dammit." He screeched nails down his scalp, making the girls flinch at the sound. "He was fucking tied up, gagged and stuffed into a fucking bag. We found him in an alley. He's torn up something fierce." Undyne looked a little green, and Alphys looked pale.

"Let's go then Sans," Alphys held out a hand. Sans grabbed it, and held out his other hand for Undyne's too. Undyne just shook her head.

"I need to notify Asgore, Sans. This is gross monster abuse, and also an unregged monster. He needs to be informed." Sans dropped his hand, but nodded his head.

"Yeah, go deal with the politics. I don't think Pap is in a good place to write anything up. He's pretty traumatized, I think." Undyne looked uneasy.

"I'll come visit the nerd soon. Distract him if he needs it." Sans gave her a tired smile.

"Yeah, sounds good. Com'mon then Alph." Eye searing, he fazed into the space of his living room. Alphys stumbled, and gripped her supplies tighter.

"Com'mon. Paps and the little guy are in my room." He looked at Alphys. "Just... prepare yourself, I think he's a hard sneeze away from dusting." Alphys went pale again, but nodded. They made the small walk, and Sans creaked the door open. Paps was sitting against the headboard, legs on the bed, looking down at the other side of him, petting the top of the head Sans spied. He walked over, and Papyrus looked up, and smiled weakly at Alphys.

"HELLO ALPHYS, THANKS FOR COMING. HE REALLY NEEDS SOME HELP." He stood up, unblocking the view, of a skeletal head, eyes closed, snuggled into a heavy woolen blanket. Its eyes were sunken in, and the face was pale. Alphys approached cautiously, going around Papyrus. Her hands ghosted over the cracks in the skull, some older and some newer. The crusted blood, the dried tears. It was quiet a humbling sight. She lifted the blanket, uncovering the skeletal body, naked, in the fetal position. She examined for a few seconds, then threw the blanket back over, and turned scarlet, whipping around to face Sans and Papyrus.

"W-w-w-WHY did you say it was a b-b-b-b-b-BOY?!" Sans looked a little shocked, looking up at Paps, who shrugged.

"I mean, that's what skeletons come in. They've always been male." Then Sans went pale, and coughed, feeling his face burning.

"Sans, all species who have genders, have at least the potential for male AND female!" Her stutter gone, in her lecturing tone, that had Sans' head shrinking into his collar. Papyrus just made a confused noise. "T-t-the slender shoulders, the smaller ribs, not to mention the pp-p-p-p-PELVIS." She squeaked out, and Papyrus made a squawking sound.

"YOU MEAN, HE, IS A SHE?!"

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Lul enjoy :P


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